Hi! I'm new here and after scanning through some of the threads, I gotta say how friendly this forum seems. What a nice change compared to so many other forums I've seen where I'm afraid to ask questions.

Okay, so I'm about to do my first softmod using SID and then AID. I think I understand what I need to do thanks to reading all the excellent guides available. I've got everything I need including a new 500GB IDE hard drive. But I'm a bit confused about which boot option to choose when doing the softmod. According to the SID manual I have these choices (as I'm sure you all know):

Okay, so I understand the difference between the Softmod Menu and the MS Dash. I'm pretty sure I want a dual-boot so the question is which one? Is there any reason to go with the Hacked Dash/MS Dash choice? I know that would allow you to play online but the servers are gone now aren't they? And I wouldn't want to play online anyways. So is there any reason at all to have the MS Dash? Is the hacked dash/softmod menu the way to go?

And then, would I want the standard or Virtual C? I've been trying to read about the difference but I'm a bit unsure if it's the right thing to do. What do most users here do? I'm the only one that will be using the xbox. Is there any downside to using or not using Virtual C?

Also - should I choose the HD option? Right now I am using an old CRT tv, but soon I will be getting an hdtv, and I already have the hd component kit for the xbox, so I will want that option eventually. So if I choose HD now, will it mess things up on a crt tv? Is there any downside to choosing the HD option if I am using a crt tv for now?

One other thing - I have the latest AID - will that have the most recent versions of the applications on it? Or are some of them outdated? I am wondering what is the best way to go about making sure I don't start off with all outdated applications. I'll be installing UnleashX from SID 5.11 - is that version okay or is there a more recent or better version of it?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to help me out!

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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:46 pmPost subject:

before doing anything if you plan on using AID after modding with SID then watch this video tutorial

I cant stress this enough DO NOT install a virtual C with SID, Install it with AID after the above has been completed

danffXbox-HQ EnthusiastXbox Version: V1.6bModded: Babylon3 GS

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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 6:14 pmPost subject:

Wow thanks for the quick reply. Okay I will watch those videos. Thanks for the warning about Virtual C with SID.

So then HD won't have any negative drawbacks on my standard-def tv? What does HD mode do exactly?

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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:12 pmPost subject:

It just enables HD support. On a HD TV things will look crisper. It has no drawbacks on a non HD TV. Its just like watching shows that are broadcast in HD on a normal TV

CanyonManXbox-HQ EnthusiastXbox Version: V1.6bModded: Babylon3 GS

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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:25 amPost subject:

Welcome to the forum danff

roryslXbox-HQ MemberXbox Version: V1.6bModded: Babylon3 GS

Joined: Mar 19, 2011Posts: 51

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 2:26 pmPost subject:

Great post danff -- those were some questions I had myself and I'm happy to have them answered!

danffXbox-HQ EnthusiastXbox Version: V1.6bModded: Babylon3 GS

Joined: Mar 27, 2011Posts: 27

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:22 pmPost subject:

Thanks for the links and also the welcome! Okay, so I watched the vids, and followed along as best I could with the SID and AID manuals also to make sense of everything. I have a question about the HDD upgrade vid. On the second part of the vid, after the HDD is installed, it shows files being manually deleted off the HDD, the SID files being copied from the memory card over to the HDD, and the SID softmod install walkthrough - basically the same thing as in the first part of the AID Video tutorial. I wouldn't do any of that though because I will have already done that part before the HDD upgrade, right? Or do I need to do that over again just as shown? That part confused me a bit. Are these the correct steps to take?

1) Install softmod using SID 5.11 as shown in the the first part of the AID video tutorial.

2) FTP the C + E drive and EEPROM.bin file to my PC

3) Create XBOXHDM disc and create hard drive as shown in the first part of the HDD Upgrade Video Tutorial.

4 ) After installing new hard drive, restart XBOX and insert AID 4.52 and continue as shown in second and third parts of the AID video tutorial.

Basically I would be creating the new HDD between the SID softinstall and the AID install? Have I got that right or am I skipping something? I'm still unsure of a couple things though:

1) I'm still not sure if I need to re-do the SID soft install after putting in the new HDD as shown in the video.

2) The AID video tutorial shows a single-boot Virtual C install being selected. Is that what is recommended then? I was under the impression from reading on the forums that dual-boot is preferable. What is advisable? I will be installing emulators also but I don't want to make things any more complicated than necessary. Is there a downside to picking one over the other? And is it wise to do the Virtual C using AID like in the video, or should I skip the Virtual C? Is there any drawback to having a Virtual C? Still a bit confused on that one.

3) I have an Intel CoreI7 920 PC with an ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard which I built myself. I noticed in the HDD Upgrade Video it says to use an AMD based PC due to Intel having trouble locking discs. Unfortunately, I don't have access to an AMD based PC. Can I expect problems or should it be okay?

4) One other thing, I will be using a brand new 500GB IDE drive - In the AID manual under "Installing a Hacked Dashboard" it mentions there will be a choice of 3 options after selecting a dash - Retail HD (E) Large HD (E+F) and Larger HD (E+F+G). I would want Larger HD (over 120GB) but I didn't notice that option anywhere in the video tutorials. Will that option be available if I use the 1-click install or will it be done automatically?

I really appreciate the help, and thanks to those that made those videos available. They really help when you actually see the steps being taken.

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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:35 pmPost subject:

You have to redo the softmod, its one of the costs of softmod as opposed to chipped. As to single or dual boot depends what you want. One of the main reasons behind dualboot was so people could still use live and not get busted, but live doesnt exist anymore so thats no longer a concern. The Intel may cause serious issues for you, Ive never seen an i7 used but I have yet to see an Intel succesfuly lock an hdd. As for which drive size you want to pick e+f+g and you will need to format the g drive before it will be usable. Just use the format tool on AID to do it.

The steps will be

SID softmod
FTP off the drives and make xboxhdm disc
Build new HDD and install
Boot game used (splinter cell, 007) go to softmod menu and remove softmod and delete all saves associated with it
Copy on SID saves and remod
Put in AID and do a 1 click mod

danffXbox-HQ EnthusiastXbox Version: V1.6bModded: Babylon3 GS

Joined: Mar 27, 2011Posts: 27

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:55 pmPost subject:

Okay for step 4 you said "Boot game used (splinter cell, 007) go to softmod menu and remove softmod and delete all saves associated with it". Could you clarify that slightly more? In the HDD upgrade video it just shows booting up the xbox and it going to the original dash, then deleting the game saves and copying over the files again. It doesn't show him booting up Splinter Cell until after he has deleted the files and copied over the new files again from the memory card. And it doesn't show him removing the softmod so I'm a bit lost with this part. So after I install the newly built HDD I put the Splinter Cell game in first? Then what happens? Won't I need to have the files copied over to the HDD first before I boot up Splinter Cell? You said go to softmod menu and remove softmod and all saves. How would I remove the softmod? I don't see this step mentioned in any guide unless I'm missing something.

I'm still a bit fuzzy over the whole Virtual C choice. And I have no idea what to do about the Intel issue. So everybody who does a softmod has an AMD?

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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 8:15 pmPost subject:

Im actualy the guy in the videos Actor, director and producer The reason you missed the removal is because there wasnt one, the drives in those vids had Ndure on them which will allow a straight overwrite of the softmod as long as you delete the files I showed, SID will not allow this if it detects any elements of a softmod it will abort which is why you have to do a removal. This video is Ndure again(sorry) but the method for a removal is the exact same just the "skin" looks different

You can try booting an AID disc and doing a 1 click, or just deleting the files like I do in the hdd video and installing but I dont reccomend it. The one time I tried a remod without removal it left my xbox in a loop. It would boot to the logo screen stay for a second or two then reboot and I was forced to rebuild off a backup. Something to do with the virtual c drive causes it but im not sure what exactly

danffXbox-HQ EnthusiastXbox Version: V1.6bModded: Babylon3 GS

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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:57 pmPost subject:

Thanks for the link. That video definitely helps fill in some of the blanks for me. I still need to figure out which dash to go with - I was figuring on going with the Unleashx but after seeing the mc360 skin with xbmc I really like it - is that skin still included with AID? And I'm still undecided on single/dual boot and Virtual C. I guess it provides some added protection against deleting anything important. But I don't want to complicate maters any.

I'm gonna check out my girlfriend's sister's PC - it's an old crappy HP but I'll look up the model and see if it is Intel or AMD. I checked my bios and I don't see any options for disabling automatic detection for the freezing drive issue but then I only have SATA drives connected right now so once I attach the IDE drive maybe the bios will give me another option for that I hope.

Also I just updated my MS dash to 1.00.5960.01 using Burnout Revenge. That should be ok for doing the softmod shouldn't it?

EDIT: Well my girlfriend's sister's computer is an HP a1310n which has an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ processor, so that should work out okay for locking the drive I guess? The only problem is her DVD drive is rather wonky and I don't trust it to burn the xboxhdm image to DVD. Can I burn the image on my PC and then take that disc and the new drive over to her PC and actually make the new HDD over there? It seems like I should be able to do that okay shouldn't I?

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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:24 amPost subject:

I prefer single boot for a few of reasons. 1 if you happen to reset the xbox and are taking a game out it will either boot to ms dash or softmod menu. 2 virtual c from my experience seems to have removal issues 3 you can access the softmod menu and ms dash from your hacked dash 4 saves around 200mb of room

I run single boot unleashx with xbmc as an app on mine. Its the best of the dashs and very easily customized. Dont go Evox or Anodx, XBMC is the only other real option. Personaly I dont like it as a dash but its all about prferences

If that HP has 2 dvd/cd drives make sure you unhook the slave and leave the master or else force the slave drive to stay open during the entire procedure. Ive only used 1 once I actually used it to build the drive in the video, but didnt include the footage because it kept having boot issues until I forced the drive to stay open.

danffXbox-HQ EnthusiastXbox Version: V1.6bModded: Babylon3 GS

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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:42 amPost subject:

Thanks for the continued assistance. The HP only has 1 DVD drive but it has a hard time playing DVDs. It does read discs and I've had it boot discs before but I don't really trust it. It doesn't actually play DVD movies and it takes forever to read and copy discs. I hate the idea of using it but I don't know what else to do. My only experience with drives has been with SATA though. IF I were using my PC I would just leave my DVD drive connected to the SATA port and just plug the IDE drive in as a master. But if I'm going to use the HP, how would I do it? I'm assuming the HDD and the DVD drive is on the same IDE cable with the DVD drive set to slave, but I haven't looked at it yet. Is that how I want it set up? New HDD set to master and DVD drive set to slave on the same cable?

As far as the boot options, I'm leaning towards your way of thinking. I don't want to be over-complicated and introduce any additional headaches. As long as I can do everything from the single boot (run emulators, access XBMC as an app, etc., then I see no reason to run dual-boot. I didn't know I could access the ms dash from unleashx. Sounds like that's the way to go. I've also read that unleashx is very stable and xbmc tends to be glitchy from release to release so it's better as an app. Of course that's just from something I read in a forum. Then again some seem to be very much against sticking with unleashx being that XBMC has regular support. In the end I guess it's up to me to decide.

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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:23 amPost subject:

It should have 2 IDE channels on the motherboard. The one the PCs hard drive is plugged into (if there is 2 channels) will be the primary channel, thats the one the xbox hdd needs to be plugged into. The DVD drive should be plugged into the secondary channel, and if theres only one dvd drive as long as its on a seperate channel from the hdd you can ignore its jumper settings. If it just has one channel then the hdd must be master and dvd slave.

When you see terms in tuts about primary master and secondary master this is what they are referring to.

According to HP its a 939 asus board in that pc and it runs a SATA HDD but has IDE ports as well. Its a perfect tower for building xbox and 360 drives considering the xp support and ide and sata ports

You can make Unleashx look just as fancy as xbmc. All my friends jaws hit the floor when I boot up mine with a video skin

danffXbox-HQ EnthusiastXbox Version: V1.6bModded: Babylon3 GS

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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:24 pmPost subject:

I didn't know unleashx was that customizable.

Well I had a look at the inside of the HP, and there are 2 IDE ports on the motherboard. One of the ports is taken up by the DVD drive and the other one is empty. The current hdd is SATA. So would I just unplug the SATA hdd and plug the new IDE hdd into the empty IDE port, or would I need to swap the ports around because right now the DVD drive is in the first port? Would it make any difference as long as I set the hdd to master ? Here's are links to the motherboard schematics - the DVD drive is plugged into the IDE port on the left labeled "DE2". But I don't know if that port is considered primary or secondary. It would make sense that DE1 is primary and DE2 is secondary right? I'm assuming the hdd should be plugged into primary and the DVD drive into secondary but which one is the DVD drive plugged into right now? I just want to make sure I connect everything right the first time since I haven't used IDE before.

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